“He was one of the first blokes to send me a message, which was all class; he said, ‘Congratulations, enjoy the week, and Origin footy is the best’,” Edwards said, as he arrived at the team hotel.
As for why he felt he was ready for Origin football, Edwards said: “We’ll have to wait and see. We’ve played in quite a few big games at clubland, so that should hold you in good stead for this sort of arena.”
Maguire spoke at NSW Rugby League headquarters at Sydney Olympic Park on Monday about his first Origin squad. He discussed the six Blues debutants, the 11 changes to last year’s Origin III side, the decision to dump Tedesco, and why Nicho Hynes’ calf setback on Saturday was not a concern.
Maguire said he would keep the details of his selection conversation with Tedesco to himself, but his “gut” told him Edwards was the right call.
“He’s [Tedesco] a champion of the game and playing some good footy, so it was a big decision,” Maguire said.
“He [Edwards] is a player that’s been playing at the highest level. He’s played in four grand finals, we all know his stats, and he’s won three and I think he’s probably one of the most consistent players I’ve seen for a long, long time, over a long period of time … I just felt from my gut it was the right time to give Dylan the opportunity to play, and I’m really happy and confident that he’s going to come in and do really well.”
Hynes failed to finish the game on Saturday night after carrying a calf injury into the match, but Maguire said he was confident the Sharks halfback would be fit for Origin I.
“He’ll be fine ... you just look at the information you’ve got, that’s why I can make easy decisions because the information that we got from the scan [is] that he’s healthy,” Maguire said.
“They’re pretty confident that he’s going to be out on the field day one, and that’s exactly what I want ... some really experienced people that have worked in the game for years and years are telling me that he’ll be fine, ready to go.”
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Maguire included Luke Keary in the extended squad, but would not elaborate if the three-time premiership winner would come in for Hynes if he was ruled out, or if Jarome Luai would move to halfback.
The Blues coach said it was an easy decision to elevate Jake Trbojevic to captain.
“I’ve watched Jake for such a long time. He wears his heart on his sleeve. That resonates with our people in NSW,” he said.
Maguire also confirmed Joseph Suaalii’s big-money move to rugby had never been an issue when considering him for Origin.
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